


White

by chancellorxofxtrash (PhoebeMurdivine)



Series: Daemons & Naritaverse [16]
Category: Baccano!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Alternate Universe - His Dark Materials Fusion, Canon-Typical Violence, Daemon Touching, F/M, and like this is ladd and lua, but only if you squint real hard, hints of polyshipping if you squint, naritaverse, so uhhh you know what they are like
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-15
Updated: 2017-02-15
Packaged: 2018-09-24 14:57:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9767141
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PhoebeMurdivine/pseuds/chancellorxofxtrash
Summary: Ladd's daemon settled later than usual





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [WattStalf](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WattStalf/gifts).



> Quick summary of Daemon AU's and this one in particular:
> 
> \- Every human being has a daemon, from their birth. They are a part of their soul, in a form of an animal, basically a representation of their souls. They are not always follow stereotypes associated with their animals however, there are many different interpretations.  
> \- When they are kids, their daemons often change forms, they are not settled. It's during their teenage years they finally "settle" into their final form, but it changes for everyone.  
> \- Most of the time the daemon's gender is different than the human's.  
> \- Touching someone's daemon is taboo. Especially without consent. It can happen when people are especially close to each other, like lovers, but never publicly. Touching someone's daemon without consent or warning is at the very least uncomfortable, but it can be outright painful.  
> \- Hurting the daemon hurts the human, and vice versa.  
> \- If the daemon dies, the human dies too.  
> \- The daemons of other supernatural beings are explained in later stories.  
> \- Daemons' talk is written in italics  
> \- Vampires' daemons are just as varied as the vampires themselves.  
> \- Homunculi depend a lot on how they were created

Evelyn settled later than usual.

Ladd had felt his parents’ looks when Evelyn kept changing, following him around, even after both Leila’s Bailey had settled, and so did Who’s Lynn. Lynn settled as a spaniel, trusty as ever, because of course she did, and Bailey settled as a butterfly. Which Leila wasn’t fond of, by the way, she wrinkled her nose in a cute way, and Bailey just fluttered on, not giving a damn.

Ladd barely thought of Leila and Bailey later, though, especially about Bailey falling apart to golden dust.

Most people would think Ladd’s daemon settled when he lost Leila. Which was horseshit, he settled not long before Leila and him ran away. People always get the facts mixed up all the time.

Why did they run exactly? Was it elopement, or was it something else? What happened?

What did it matter?

What mattered that Leila was dead, and Bailey was gone.

People would have mixed up the facts either way.

But Evelyn did settle - a lizard, a big one, bigger than any lizards Ladd had ever seen. Monitor lizard, some people told him, but he didn’t really care about specifics.

Evelyn was strong, and that was what mattered.

Who was the one closest to the truth of the matter, him seeing Ladd and Leila’s “relationship” for what it really was.

“But you know, Who, bless your eager heart, I really fucking don’t want to talk about it.”

“I figured that much” Who sighed, pressing an ice bag to Ladd’s head. Of course his opponent looked worse, much, much worse, but that bruise was nasty.

 _“This is bullshit though, Ladd. If you never talk about it, everyone will think you killed Leila.”_ Lynn though, the trusty spaniel was grumbling next to them, and Ladd grinned, despite his busted lip.

“See, Who? Lynn speaks her mind. That’s why everyone remembers her name, but nobody remembers yours.”

_“Or they don’t remember his name because you are a dick who only introduces him as Who.”_

“Well, maybe. But my point still stands.”

-

When he saw Lua, he didn’t see a daemon around her at first.

She was sitting there, still, and looked like she was alone - which was impossible, wasn’t it? Nobody was alone. Everyone had a daemon.

Her daemon was probably just hard to see, especially with them surrounded with so many people.

“Hey, Evelyn, what do you think, what is her daemon?”

Evelyn raised her head, looking lazily to where Ladd was inclining with his head.

_“A soft lady like her? Probably something fluffy. Not terribly interesting.”_

“Nah, look at her. If it’d be a big fluffy cat or something like that, it’d probably sprawl all over her lap. No, it has to be something else.”

_“Maybe it’s a small one. Like a mouse. Looks like a mouse kinda person.”_

“No waaaay, she is beautiful, no way she’d have anything as… well, not a mouse!”

_“Then maybe a bird. A pretty bird that can sing prettily. What does it matter, really?”_

“I want to find out.”

_“...you do just that.”_

-

Ladd didn’t get anywhere, and it’s annoying, and when he was accompanying Lua through the dark streets, he still can’t see a daemon around her. Bird is still a good candidate, maybe further away, watching them intently. Maybe an insect, small and barely seen. Maybe a tiny little one, like a mouse or a rat for real.

It is considered horribly rude to force someone to show their daemon if they are being hidden, and Ladd didn’t want to scare her away. He was being charming, after all, even if she is being infuriating with her stuck up attitude, and acting like Ladd is too boring for her.

And then the guy ran into him, and all the tension that had been building up inside him snapped.

Evelyn didn’t talk about it as much as Ladd did, but Ladd knew, oh, how he knew. He knew that his uncle and his uncle’s daemon were both feeling sorry for Evelyn to be stuck with Ladd, simply because she didn’t talk about it that much.

But Ladd was aware, that Evelyn had enjoyed it as much as he did.

Evelyn enjoyed striking down quickly and savagely to other daemons, her sharp teeth trapping them, until their bodies fell into golden dust.

Ladd couldn’t stop grinning, and then Lua was smiling and now wasn’t that just interesting?

“Could you do something like that to me?”

And when she asked it with a soft voice, under her coat there was a movement.

A tiny, white lizard climbed out from under her coat.

-

His name was Artis, and he was actually a skink, as he pointed out, his tongue a bright shade of blue, and while he didn’t talk much in front of others, he quickly found his voice around Ladd and Evelyn.

As much as Evelyn was dismissive about Lua at first, she got as enthusiastic about Artis, letting the small skink sit on her head or on her back, god, that little lizard had a mouth.

_“Hey, hey, Evelyn, I got an idea.”_

_“Is it an idea like that one time you wanted to play tag through the traffic?”_

_“No, no listen, I climb into your mouth, and you bite down at me! Wouldn’t that surprise those two? Wouldn’t it? I think it’d be great!”_

Ladd reached down, and held the small skink in his hands. He was so small, it’d have been so easy to snap his spine between his hands, to literally grind him into dust. Lua didn’t even shudder when Ladd held her daemon in his palm, she just smiled.

“Artis, you cute little shit. I’m the only one who gets to kill Lua, and not even Evelyn gets to take away that honor from me. Got it?”

_“C’mon, Ladd. It’d be hilarious!”_

And that’s exactly what Artis thought. He wasn’t really about to run out to the traffic, or anything like that, but he’d joke and poke fun about it. Whispering ideas to Evelyn, while Ladd and Lua walked arm in arm down the street.

-

Lua didn’t like to be a hostage - then again who liked to be one? And while they were the Rosso family’s… well, guests, Artis kept hidden again, barely even talking, while she was waiting.

She just had to wait for Ladd, because there could be no prison to stop him from coming back to her. He promised, after all.

Ricardo would visit her from time to time, with his daemon, Nero following him, still changing, not yet settled. Lua didn’t talk about how both Ricardo and Nero were male, and Ricardo never pointed out that he never saw Lua’s daemon, because Artis never showed himself to him.

It was a strange system they had working. Somehow Lua got the feeling that Ricardo wasn’t more keen about this arrangement than she was, but they both had to work with what they had.

Lua had practice in that, and she had a feeling that Ricardo did as well.

-

“You know, who would have thought this world would end like this?” Ladd mused while at dinner one day.

“That’s a bit too dramatic, the world isn’t ending or anything…” Firo muttered, looking into his abysmal food with a despairing expression.

Probably was only despairing because of the food.

Why would he be despairing over having his new friend Ladd there, riiight?

“Oh, c’mon you know what I mean. Huey Laforet making a dramatic exit, and the little girly hanging around in Alcatraz. I have to admit I am seriously bummed that the only way to kill someone immortal is to be an immortal. There gotta be something else right? And I bet if there is some other way, I can figure that out myself.”

Firo just sighed, and Nives, his small sparrow just nested herself in his hair.

It was actually kind of unnerving, Nives being completely quiet. She was a small, fighty little bird, but ever since the incident with Huey’s little girl and the falcons, she had been quiet.

Speaking of which…

“Oh, by the way don’t you find it interesting that everyone says that if something happens to us, it happens to the daemon, and vice versa? We are the living proofs of this not being true!”

Firo looked up at him, raising his eyebrows, and Ladd was grinning.

“I lost my arm, and Evelyn has all her limbs. You lost an eye, and Nives has both her eyes.”

“I don’t… I don’t think about stuff like this usually.”

“Me neither. But interesting isn’t it?”

If Firo wanted to reply, he couldn’t, before the guards told them to shut the fuck up.

-

“It’s all about the spiders, Miss Lua, don’t you see? Maybe the spiders are a collective, more advanced species than us, and they are in league with aliens, so they kidnapped Shaft, and got replaced by our spider overlords! Oh the humanity…”

_“Or maybe you are just overthinking. As usual.”_

“Do not fall into the lies of the spiders, Winnifred! That is exactly what they want!”

The opossum named Winnifred sighed, as she just sprawled on the backseat of the car. Shaft’s ever-silent dashchund just looked at Winnifred with an unreadable expression, and Lua just softly smiled, looking down at the opossum as well.

“He had been going on about spiders a lot.”

_“For some reason, spiders keep coming back in his rants for the past years, yes. By the way I’m booored. Artis, aren’t you coming out?”_

Lua was wearing a coat, and her pocket moved with a snicker.

_“No chance, no way, no no. I’m not even here. Artis has disappeared. Rest in pieces.”_

_“I can hear you Artis.”_

_“Shhhh no you can’t.”_

Then there was the door being ripped up, and a head poked in - and Lua’s face lit up just as Ladd’s did.

Then Ladd frowned.

“Hey isn’t that Winni--”

“Boss Laaaaaaddddd!”

Of course Graham did try to get a jump on Ladd. Of course he failed.

And Evelyn basically climbed over everyone, causing Shaft to splutter uncomfortably, and Winnifred to sigh dejectedly, because the big lizard wanted to get to the backseat.

And her presence of course got Artis out of his hiding place.

Things got really cramped in the car, especially after a fellow called Nader showed up, with a raccoon in his arms.

-

“Things are gonna get hectic again, dollface. Are you ready for that?”

Ladd caressed Lua’s face, and she leaned into his touch.

“You’re gonna come with me. We gotta do this together. I’d rather have you close, then risk you being taken hostage again. Stay with Who or Graham all the time, alright, doll?”

Lua nodded.

“Take care of yourself, Ladd.”

“As always, Lua. You know that, right?” Ladd leaned forward, kissing her forehead. “I have to stay alive to kill you, after all.”

**Author's Note:**

> New daemons!
> 
> Ladd Russo's daemon - Evelyn, monitor lizard  
> Lua Klein's daemon - Artis, blue-tongued skink  
> Leila's daemon - Bailey, butterfly  
> Who's daemon - Lynn, spaniel  
> Graham Specter's daemon - Winnifred, opossum  
> Shaft's daemon - unnamed (yet), dashchund  
> Ricardo Russo's daemon - Nero, not yet settled  
> Nader's daemon - unnamed (yet), raccoon
> 
> Dedicated to Hannah. Because she is the champion of both Ladd and Lua and Laddlua. And I borrowed her headcanons for this fic a bit, read her stories though.  
> The headcanons come from this fic:  
> http://archiveofourown.org/works/7840414
> 
> Thanks for reading!


End file.
